The Italian adventure continued… on to Rome and Venice
When we started planning our trip to Rome, a student of mine stopped me and said I had to call the tour guide she had. She couldn’t remember the guide’s name, but she gave me this one tell-tale detail: the guide was Italian but grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. After just a few search attempts, I found the Papini family, owners of the highly celebrated Rome Guide Services. This is truly a family affair; everyone on staff is related and can claim a Roman heritage. We were paired with Carlo Papini for our tour, and we had one objective—get advance access to the Vatican in order to see the Sistine Chapel with some amount of leisure time. Lines to enter the Vatican in the morning can stretch around the block, a fact I know well because I’ve stood in that line. It was not fun. Besides, as much as you can look around, it’s hard to take in the expanse of the Vatican grounds. The museum itself stretches over 9 MILES!! So, if you have high points you want to hit, you’ll need a guide.
What I was really interested in seeing on our tour was the controversial sculpture of Laocoön and his sons:
Background: nerdy myth about Laocoon
Laocoon was a Trojan priest of Poseidon who recognized the deception of the Trojan horse. When he attempted to warn the Trojans, the Olympian gods sent snakes out of the sea to silence him. Laocoon and his sons died a miserable death, and they’re a classic example of innocents who die in myth because the whims of the gods dictate that they should. I saw this statue in my art history and classics courses, and I wanted to see it in person. After all it’s the quintessential example of Hellenistic art, with its overt display of emotion and excessive motion. Laocoon himself looks like he is coming unglued, almost as if he will break free of the marble prison in which he has spent so many centuries and assert his innocence. But, alas, he won’t – because he’s just a statue, if an extremely fabulous one.
The Piece
This statue was a legend even before it was excavated in Rome in 1506. There were ancient sources that described its tortured appearance, with Laocoon and his sons being overwhelmed by sea serpents and dragged into the depths of the sea. According to ancient sources, the statue once stood in the palace of the Emperor Titus, and it had been the object of many a search.
There are some who believe that the Laocoon we see is actually a fake, perhaps even crafted by Michelangelo himself. However, I like to think otherwise (and I have zero grounds for making any judgment of any kind) because the Laocoon provided such an acknowledged role model for Renaissance sculptors. Raphael used the face in his works, and such masters as Titian and Rubens sketched the work multiple times to gain greater familiarity and ability with the human form. Furthermore, if Michelangelo truly did sculpt this work, why would he leave it incomplete? Laocoon’s right arm, which bows behind his back, was missing when the piece was found, and Michelangelo conjectured that the arm had indeed reached backwards to seize the attacking serpents. However, his contemporaries disagreed with him, and until the 1950s, the piece had an outstretched arm. Then, research and the chance finding of a new arm confirmed Michelangelo’s hypothesis, and the figure was reconstructed to reflect the new insights. A perfectionist like Michelangelo would never have allowed such a misguided representation of his own masterpiece. So, in my mind, the Laocoon is an ancient work, even if it’s a copy of an early ancient piece. It is one of the most breathtaking pieces of art I have ever seen – right up there with Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” and “Guernica.” Napoleon must have agreed, for he seized the Laocoon when he took Rome in 1799, and it sat in the Louvre until 1816.
I could not have found the Laocoon without Carlo Papini’s help. For all that I knew about the piece and all that I felt in my heart about it, within the labyrinthine Vatican museum, I would never have walked into the unassuming courtyard. I would have missed it, and I would have kicked myself. I needed Carlo’s keen knowledge of the museum to achieve my goal of seeing this spectacular feat of human artistry.
Additionally, each year, we work with students and talk to them about Roman history. The emperor that makes the larges impression (besides Augustus, of course) is Nero. I mean, he acted in common Roman theaters, murdered his mother, and played the lyre while Rome burned. The fact that his home, the Domus Aurea, has been unearthed is so exciting. In the Vatican stands Nero’s bathtub, taken directly from the Domus Aurea. The material of the bathtub is porphyry, a purple stone that was so hard to cut that between ancient Roman and medieval times the technology to make hard enough steel to carve porphyry was lost. The Romans quarried their porphyry in Egypt and brought it back to the imperial capital as a symbol of Roman wealth and power. Nero used one of the largest hunks of porphyry ever rendered to make his bathtub (or whatever it really was).
The tub sits atop a phenomenal mosaic floor, and in the rotunda stands one of the largest ancient bronze statues ever found, the bronze Hercules – The piece was struck by lightning in the 2nd century and was buried in front of the Theater of Pompey, where it originally stood, probably to prevent it from further damage, but also most likely out of superstitious concern.
These highlights would not have been nearly as impressive without Carlo’s insights. Yes, I knew about them, but I might have overlooked them. Again, we were dealing with NINE MILES of museum. There is more educational travel condensed in that series of halls than anywhere else in the world. I encourage you to go prepared with a knowledgeable guide at your side. It’s too easy to miss the magic otherwise.
Inside St. Paul’s, we witnessed a host of mind-blowing sights, but I think it is worth mentioning the body of Pope John XXIII. Illuminated rather eerily, the body refuses to decompose! No one knows why, but this joyful pope displays the same tranquility in death that it did in life.
For educational travel geeks, this takes the concept of the mummy to the next level – because no fancy desert salts caused this miraculous preservation. It’s mysteries like this that make history and life on earth so fascinating. We may never crack the code, and that’s just fine with me.
Another site that merits mention is the almighty Pantheon. While we’ve all seen its photos, have we considered how spectacular it is that the Romans constructed a dome before the first century AD that still stands? It is important to mention that the Pantheon we all know and love is often misunderstood. While the inscription on the front of the temple reads, “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, made this building when consul for the third time,” the building we currently see in Rome actually dates to a later time. Agrippa’s Pantheon burned in AD 80, and Hadrian, the famed Emperor whose wall still graces the English countryside, rebuilt it in 114, presumably in a far grander style. Although the fall of Rome resulted in the destruction of countless ancient monuments, the Pantheon survived because Pope Boniface IV converted it into a Christian church in 609 AD – wrap your brain around the fact that we are talking about 1400 years ago!!!
The Pantheon is so remarkable because of its lasting dome. Concrete was lost altogether to mankind after the fall of the Roman Empire; the finer points of its use were literally unfathomable. However, in Hadrian’s time, the Roman people knew how to combine pumice and tuff into the concrete, making the dome progressively less dense as the height increased. Therefore, the Pantheon’s dome could rise proudly and comfortably for generations.
Important mention – Educational travel in Rome is absolutely complemented by a trip to the Capitoline Museum. There, you will see busts of all major Roman figures, from Cicero to Caracalla. You will also have the chance to look at the massive statue of Augustus that once stood in the Forum. I recommend getting there early. Yes, I may be abnormally obsessed, but we got to see the sculpture of the she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus and the astounding bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius returning in triumph on horseback. I’ll be honest with you; you could walk all day through this museum and never see it all. Then, you could head over to the National Museum (as I plan to do on our next trip) and have the same experience. You would have the same experience at the Vatican museum, and so on. Just imagine the past with that in mind. A world of sculpture, of art. Imagine a city filled with white marble and stern visages. These sculptures are in many instances all that remain of that sparkling past. That’s why I never get tired of talking about Roman art and why I will always refer to Google images and other web sources for visual representations of the past. We have an abundance of these visual references. Let’s embrace them.
Venice has a far different ring to it than Rome. It’s ancient, indeed, but the richness of Venetian history really peaks in later centuries. Venice was a part of our trip because I had read about the strength of the doge system in Venice in the Middle Ages and seen evidence of its reach during a vacation to Croatia. After a trip to Venice, I can say with certainty two things: (1) It’s great to visit in the winter and (2) It’s not as much of a historian’s destination as Rome and Florence.
We would all recommend the winter travel time because of the dearth of travelers at that time. Literally, the streets are empty, and on our tour of the Doge’s Palace, we had the tour guide practically to ourselves. That’s an important mention, as well: the guides at the Doge’s Palace are really good. You don’t need an independent guide, provided that you are there in a low enough season that you can get in on a scheduled tour. We got to see the place where Casanova was held captive and the council room where his fate would have been decided. That was interesting, and the architecture was mesmerizing. However, there’s a strange, lurking history in Venice that I would like to know more about.
Venice is one of the only places that Charlemagne could not capture. It was its own country. It was exceedingly Eastern and exotic and wealthy. It was the home of Marco Polo, whose travels brought (purportedly) pasta to Italy and whose journeys captivate even the most disenchanted student of history. It maintains an active Carnival where masks are the order of the day. And yet it is terribly inaccessible to the casual traveler. All you can hope to do is wander the canals and marvel at the rarity of the city.
Jamil and I have a passion for working with kids, but we also have a passion for travel. And not just any travel – educational travel. I know it sounds nuts, but even when we’re not working with students on academic subjects, we’re learning, and we’re doing it by immersing ourselves in other cultures, venturing off the beaten path, and getting as much input from locals as possible. What may also separate Jamil and me from other travelers is that we quite often go with my parents. Traveling is so wonderful when it’s a family affair and when everyone can see the same sights and share the same memories.
For years, we have been writing down our experiences at the universities we visit – both in the states and abroad – but this year, it really struck us that we have some important insights to share about how to transform a family vacation into an amazing educational adventure. I have to warn you that, yes, we travel in style. We work our tails off, and our family vacations are our great escape. Plus, my parents are a little particular. You don’t have to stay in the hotels we recommend, but we’ll tell you WHY we selected the hotels we did and the methods we used to make our picks. At the same time, you don’t have to use our tour guides. Do we think they’re the best? Yes, but there are lots of services, and you definitely don’t have to do private tours. We just enjoy slightly more autonomy and prefer to avoid large groups.
Let’s start with a trip to Italy that might be a little different from the mainstream.
Here’s our route:
While this itinerary may include some of the hottest destinations in Italy, we took some interesting twists. This first post will cover our Florence escape.
As soon as we arrived at the AVIS counter in the Fiumicino Airport, I wondered if I had made a mistake. I can’t believe I didn’t take pictures of the line, but you can’t photograph laziness, and that was the disease plaguing the attendants at the counter. We waited for what seemed like decades and finally got our Peugeot, and I learned a valuable lesson about getting my car at the train station, NOT the airport. TRAVEL TIP: Generally, in Europe, avoid getting cars at airports simply because they charge an enormous markup for the convenience. However, I knew we had a 3+ hour drive to Florence, and I was eager to hit the Autostrada. To set the tone for the trip, I had downloaded an amazing lecture series, “Famous Romans,” by the late J. Rufus Fears, an incredible professor who headed the Department of Classics at the University of Oklahoma. I know it’s dorky, but we listened to it throughout our trip every time we got in the car, and Fears’ lectures brought new life to a city and country whose ruins and monuments I have visited multiple times. He covers incredible people and significant people with an enthusiasm for ancient history that I hope I can one day convey to someone else. Thankfully, my family nurtures this dorky side of my personality, and has even found a way to enjoy the same nerdy presentations!
When we arrived in Florence, we went straight to the hotel, the Antica Torre di Tornabuoni. I selected the hotel because of its Trip Advisor reviews. I’ll be honest, I adore Trip Advisor. While sometimes it has led me astray, it’s generally up-to-date and savvy. You won’t find yourself overpaying for a crummy hotel if you’re patient and can flip through the reviews. The Tornabuoni did not exactly live up to our expectations for comfort – although it was quiet and had an amazing rooftop lookout. In the U.S., even the Hampton Inn and Marriott Courtyard have bright-white, crackling bed sheets, and overseas, the laundry system simply doesn’t measure up unless you’re staying in a super-touristy-oriented hotels. We were literally in the middle of everything and right next to the Arno. What’s to complain about, really?
That night, we ventured out for dinner and saw the magnificent Baptistery across from the Duomo. We were so excited about going into the Baptistery that we ran in and purchased tickets just as the doors were closing. Probably a dumb idea because the deal with those tickets is this: You have six days to use them to see Brunelleschi’s Dome, the Bell Tower, the Baptistery, and the Crypt, but once you swipe the tickets, they’re only active for 24 more hours.
Don’t make the same mistake Jamil and I did, having to purchase the tickets twice. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it wasn’t exactly satisfying, either. We should’ve just waited until we had a free day, but we didn’t.
The next morning, we woke up to meet with our guide in Florence, Roberto Martelli. Roberto is possibly the greatest guide anyone interested in Florentine history could ever hope for. We found him through the impeccable Rome Guide service that we used in Rome (more on that later!), and we wound up taking two tours with Roberto – one that was just for Jamil and me and one for my parents. With Roberto at our side, we watched in vivid mental Technicolor as Savonarola burned outside the Palazzo Vecchio and crept into a hidden painting gallery that apparently leads to secret passages that are only open on certain days of the week – we missed it!
For every nook and cranny, painting and sculpture, Roberto had a backstory, a tidbit of intrigue or a tale of woe. Unbelievably, Roberto even made me rethink my perspective of Machiavelli by giving me the facts of Machiavelli’s exile and showing me Machiavelli’s personal study. Roberto knew facts that obliterated my coarse association of Machiavelli’s behavior and belief system with the dogma proclaimed by The Prince. Taking it all in, I looked around at the people who were guideless, wandering aimlessly and picking up only hints of the majesty and history surrounding them. Without Roberto’s subtitles for the foreign scenes before me, I would have missed the meaning. I would again pay to hear him tell the same stories, to soak in more of the details and enrich my understanding of the Renaissance and its shockwaves.
The next day, we drove to another type of shrine, the Prada Space Outlet in Montevarchi. I came here for the first time with my best friend, Jennifer, in 2004 and in 2006. Back then, it was a total hole. And loaded with steals. Now, it’s been discovered, and although I scored a rockin’ pair of Miu Miu sparkly smoking slippers, I think the bloom is off the rose. I’ll probably keep coming back, simply because I like perusing the selection and because it’s such a trip to drive through an industrial, unstylish town and come upon a mecca for label seekers. Yeah, I wish I could say the thrill had left me altogether, but if there’s just one rad pair of platforms or one offbeat handbag, it’s worth the drive down the A1. On that drive we also stopped at a giant supermarket to pick up another necessity: a European flatiron. For anyone with a lot of thick hair, let’s abandon any further notions of electric converters for hair-smoothing machines; they blow fuses, and they start fires. I’ve seen smoke billow out of an unwitting outlet, used and abused by American voltage. Once was enough.
Okay, so back to the historical and educational stops in Florence. We did the obligatory basics: stopping in to pay our respects to Galileo and Michelangelo at the Basilica di Santa Croce, visiting the Uffizi Gallery, and strolling along the Arno. We ate incredible food – recommendations at the end – and we shopped at the phenomenal leather stores on the other side of the Arno. Although I had been to Florence three times before this trip, this was certainly my most magical experience there.
This trip convinced me that Florence is the ideal place for history-hungry students and travelers to visit, especially in the winter. The lines are reduced to less than half, and the weather is fantastic. In the heat of summer, sweaty tourists stick to one another in throngs like gummy bears left in the sun. The stench of the crowd overwhelms. The prices skyrocket, and pickpockets come out in droves. Most of all, the abundance of activity dampens the city’s sparkle. Everyone deserves the chance to see a calm Piazza della Signora. Take my word for it; this is a wonderful December destination.
Hotel recommendation:
If you can possibly spring for the St. Regis, it’s the way to go. My parents stayed there on their way back through Florence, and it was a premium hotel experience. They had the Michelangelo Suite, overlooking the river, and said it was spectacular. My mom particularly enjoyed the bar downstairs, where she sang with the pianist until the wee hours, so late we could hardly get in touch with them.
Recently there has been some buzz in Houston among high school students and their parents about CLEP tests. CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program and is run by The College Board. These tests are offered in 33 subjects and are designed to allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and test out of some lower level college courses. The main benefit to testing out of lower level courses is cost – taking a test is cheaper than a college course (only $80!) – and that it frees up time to take other classes that will count toward graduation so there is potential to graduate earlier than if you had earned all of your credits through course hours. This is a great way to get ahead – but it only works well in certain scenarios. Is it right for you? Read on to find out!
Are you attending a community college with the hope of transferring to a larger 4-year university? If so, you’ll need to mind your GPA. Schools like The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University will want to see a very high GPA from transfer applicants. Taking a CLEP test will not go toward your GPA – you’ll just have your score printed on your transcript. This means that with fewer classes being calculated into your GPA, each one will carry more weight. And since CLEP tests are lower level courses, you might be giving up an “Easy A” that could have helped your GPA in favor of some easy credit.
Another thing to consider is what is your intended major? While there are 33 CLEP tests available (see the list here), only 9 of them are transferable to UT and A&M will accept 16. (See UT’s list here and A&M’s here, or search for another school here) Before you delve into a test, make sure that the course you will be testing out of is one that you would have to take, and one that your desired university will accept.
If you are a community college student planning on transferring, the CLEP tests can be a great way to get ahead of the game… as long as you’ve done your homework and know that you wouldn’t be better off just taking the class for a high grade, your desired school would have you taking the class anyway, and that your desired school will accept the score for credit. Click here to be taken to the College Board’s CLEP website.
It’s August and the applications are out! We hope everyone is making the most of the time before school starts to get ahead and get there materials in and applications submitted as early on as you can. One element of the application that can be a little confusing is the resume. THE RESUME IS SO IMPORTANT! So, here’s a post that goes over some resume-related information to keep you on track.
The biggest thing is: students have to fill out the entire ApplyTexas and/or Common App forms – INCLUDING the activities sections.
For ApplyTexas:
– Students have to check the box that says they will send in an expanded resume.
– They still have to fill in what they can in the form. DON’T LEAVE IT BLANK!
For schools like UT and Texas A&M, students will get emails from the schools confirming the receipt of their applications. Those emails will contain student ID numbers. Students should add those student ID numbers to their resumes, right under their birth date.
Students will then have to upload their resumes directly to the A&M and UT sites.
For other schools on ApplyTexas, students can either email their resumes to the undergraduate admissions office or mail a hard copy.
For Common App schools:
Some schools actually have the option on their supplements of letting students upload their resumes directly to the Common App. Most schools, including TCU, SMU, OU, do not. Instead, students need to email their resumes to the admissions offices. The email addresses for all of the schools can be found on the Common App under the university’s Contact Info.
Usually, students send something along the lines of the following email:
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Jessica Givens, and I am an applicant for Fall 2015 to TCU. I would like to share with you additional information about my activities and accomplishments in high school, so I have attached my resume for your review. I hope you will add the document to my file.
Thank you so much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Name
So, that’s what you need to know! Your resume goes a long way toward telling the schools what you’re about, what your interests are, and how you align with the major you’re applying for. Make sure it receives the attention it deserves!
Can you believe it is already almost the end of July?! This summer is flying by. We’re in the midst of our third week of College Application Crash Courses and have worked with some amazing students thus far. We are so proud of all of the hard work they are putting in and they are putting together some incredible essays. As students finish their course and share some of their experience and work with their parents, we check in with them to see what they thought of the course. Here are excerpts from two recent emails, both from parents with students who have been in our Crash Courses this summer.
I would like to commend you on your program. It is absolutely amazing that an 18 year old teenage male can attend a 5 day class from 9 to 4 and only come home with positive comments about the course. WOW! He is so relieved to have his college essays behind him. The process of writing and critiquing his essays was an empowering process which he will be able to utilize for a lifetime. He enjoyed the class and feels he has control of the application process. As a mother of two going to college at the same time, your course allows me to be a mom and not nag them about getting essays written and applications completed. I am a Speech-Language Pathologist with my own private practice, but I also have the burden of fighting Lyme Disease and Malaria so I do not have much extra energy for all of the college stress. Thank you so much for simplifying the process for me as a parent and for empowering my kids to be self sufficient!
– 2014 Summer Crash Course Parent
I am very pleased with the outcome of the class. Going in I was nervous that she would be jet lagged upon her return from Spain and wouldn’t make the investment in the class I hoped for. I was much relieved after speaking to her and seeing the results. Not only did she put in the time and effort she actually enjoyed it! She loved working with you. She actually said that signing her up for the class was the best decision we ever made. Bottom line I am very pleased with the class outcome and think this was some of the best money I ever spent. A great outcome and stress reliever for the entire family!
– 2014 Summer Crash Course Parent
It is so rewarding to work with so many amazing students and to hear from their happy families after their course – it is such a wonderful feeling!
We’ve had a great response so far to Jessica’s new book, Texas College Guide: The University of Texas at Austin. Now, in addition to it being available on Amazon, it is also available at a selection of bookstores and gift shops in the Houston area. Below is the current list and we will update it every few weeks as it changes. Additionally, if you’re interested in carrying the book, send us an email at info@allinoneacademics.com
Bella Madame Salon
2628 Chestnut Ridge Road, Kingwood, TX 77339
281-703-2679
14532 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77079
281-497-8675
The Book Nook
5022 Highway 90A Suite J, Sugar Land, TX 77498
281-265-9886
Katy Budget Books
2450 Fry Road, Katy, TX 77084
281-578-7770
Out of the Box
5709 Woodway Drive, Houston, TX 77057
832-252-6222
The Villager Gift Shop
9311 Katy Freeway Suite B, Houston, TX 770024
713-461-2022
We filled all of our Platinum College Application Crash Courses this year in record time – which was fantastic! But we were still getting a lot of inquiries from students and parents once the classes were full. We came up with a whole new program to offer this summer: the Silver Summer Application Package! The goal of these courses is to set aside a number of hours in the summer to really focus and work on the college applications. Here’s what’s included:
12 hours of one-on-one application consulting
8 hours of resume and essay editing
Students will finish with one polished, targeted college essay plus three creative, original 500-word essays
The 12 hours are designed to be run for 3 hours per day over 4 consecutive days. Although some modifications may be made, these prolonged sessions are critical to fostering communication and trust between the admissions consultant and the student. For more information, or to sign up, please click here.
The cost for this program is $1,875.
This is a great way to get a head start on senior year!